Google Now Arrives on iOS in Google Search App Update

Image: Courtesy Google

One of Android Jelly Bean’s best features, Google Now, is finally available on iOS as part of an update to the Google Search app.

Google Now is Google’s one-stop feature for providing you with all of the information you’re regularly interested in at a glance. It delivers everything from the day’s weather and upcoming Google Calendar appointments, to providing the stats on how your favorite sports team is playing and surfacing boarding passes when you’re traveling. You can also ask Google Now questions and you’re presented with a rich amount of information delivered practically before you’ve finished your query. Hints that the feature would make its way outside of the Android platform began surfacing in early March.

On iOS, Google Now functions almost exactly as it would on Android. Once logged into your Google account in the Search app, Google Now will optimize to your preferences with various “cards.” When you launch the app, cards are situated at the bottom and accessed by swiping upwards. Each card carries information catered to your preferences — the weather when you open the app first thing in the morning, or breaking news stories you might find interesting. You can use voice search to ask queries, in addition to just typing them in, as on Android.

The main differences between the iOS and Android implementations are the absence of a few types of cards, namely for boarding passes, events, Fandango, and concerts — some of which are things you may notice fall under the umbrella of Apple’s Passbook app — and the inability to access Google Now as a widget.